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WAITING

Is there anything worse than waiting? The average person throughout their lifetime spends five years waiting in lines and queues. Roughly six months of that is waiting at traffic lights! Waiting is simply a part of life. We wait for a child to be born (hey, it is Advent season you knew I had to use this as an example), we wait for important test results, we wait for the person playing on their phone in the car in front of us to go on the green light, and we wait for the release of the newest thing that has peaked our interest. Waiting is a part of life, but does it have to be unpleasant?

As we mature as Christians, waiting becomes a tool for God to help us. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the book God is in the Manger writes, “For the greatest, most profound, tenderest things in the world, we must wait. It happens not here in a storm but according to the divine laws of sprouting, growing, and becoming.” P4 Sometimes we feel like young children waiting for Christmas to come feeling as if the clock is out to get us but as we come to a deeper understanding of waiting we can see the importance of growth through waiting.

As Christians, we once again enter into the season of Advent; the season of waiting to celebrate the birth of our Messiah and the great prophesy that God will come in human form to save us all. Bonhoeffer continues in God is in the manger with, “The Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.” P2

Of all my spiritual gifts, patience is not one of them but I can still see the benefits of having to wait. Waiting for a child to be born can give you a little bit of time to figure out what you are going to do with a new child (half joking). Waiting to hear back from a doctor can remind you how important your prayer life is. Waiting for someone who is messing with their phone in the car can give you yet another opportunity to work on responding positively to negative stimuli. Lastly, delaying the self-gratification of acquiring the newest gadget can give you time to discern if you truly need it or if you are making that item seem more important than it should be.

Yes, waiting can be difficult but we as Christians each year join together in a season of waiting so that we can once again be reminded of the Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love that was born on Christmas day.

May your Advent season be a blessed season and as always, thank you for reading this far.